Vazquez posts double-double for third time this season

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 24, 2021) – The Bucs didn’t start the conference season as they hoped, dropping to Western Carolina in straight sets (23-25, 19-25, 28-30). The Bucs have now dropped three straight matches to the Catamounts, dating back to last Spring. ETSU still leads the all-time series 45-42.

MATCHUP: Western Carolina (5-7, 1-0 SoCon) vs. ETSU (4-8, 0-1 SoCon)

Set 1 (WCU, 25-23): Both teams got off to a slow start, each hitting under .100 in the set. It was Western that got the early lead, but aces from Taylor Roberts (Sneads, Fla.) and Lundyn Coffman (Nolensville, Tenn.) got the set tied at 13. An 8-2 run late in the set and ETSU was in a great spot to take the first, but some timely kills from the Catamounts allowed them to take the lead late and steal the first. Josannah Vazquez (Mansfield, Texas) lead all players with five kills on eight attempts with no errors. Western Carolina’s Destinee Dorsey posted a whopping 10 digs in the first set, en route to a match-high 20.

Set 2 (WCU, 25-19): A quick run from Dorsey’s serves allowed the Catamounts to take the early lead, but another Coffman ace and some help from Abbey Thomas (Goldsboro, N.C.) and Vazquez on the defensive end made it close. But Western’s Merry Gebel and Julia Gardon combined for five kills in the last few points of the match to go up two sets. Both Vazquez and Coffman put up three kills in the set, while Jenna Forster (Maryville, Tenn.) posted a solo block. Both teams were still not hitting well, as Western managed just .235 to ETSU’s .194.

Set 3 (WCU, 30-28): As the score describes, this was a set with 21 tie points and eight lead changes. It started close and it stayed that way through six different set/match points before Western sealed the sweep. At 23-23, ETSU was able to get a kill from Sara Esposito (Pianiga, Venezia, Italy) and a block from Vazquez and Chloe Dupuis (Poquoson, Va.) to take the first set point, but Gebel answered with a kill to tie. The two squads would trade kills until an ace from the Catamounts put them in their first match point of the set. Vazquez would answer with her 12th kill of the match, and Thomas and Ally Johnson (Rogers, Minn.) would also contribute to keeping Western at bay, but a Catamount block sealed any comeback from the Bucs. Caroline Dykes (Flower Mound, Texas) spread the ball to seven different Bucs players en route to her 13 assists in the set. She’d finish with a match-high 34. Roberts, Vazquez, Coffman, and Haley Sanders (Brentwood, Tenn.) each tallied three digs each, with the former two tallying double-digit digs for the match.

Outside the Box Score:

• Roberts extended her streak of matches with double-digit digs to all 12 of ETSU’s matches. 
• Esposito surpassed 100 kills on the season, the third Buc player to do so thus far (Vazquez and Forster)
• Vazquez put up a team-high 12 kills on .310 hitting, the best percentage in the match of anyone with more than three kills. She also recorded her third double-double of the season (12 kills, 11 digs), the first since a 19-kill, 12-dig performance against Old Dominion.
• Neither team hit above .200 in the match, the first time the Bucs have had that happen all season.
• This is just the second time ETSU has had to play to at least 30 points in a set, most recently doing so in the sweep over NC State in the third set of that match.
• Despite tallying just two more kills than the Catamounts, the Bucs have only lost two games where they recorded more than their opponent in that game. The first was the season-opener against Texas Tech (37-36).

  Up Next:

The Bucs continue their conference homestand tomorrow afternoon against UNCG. First serve is set for 4 p.m.

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s volleyball page.